


After Hours

by CSIGurlie07



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Could be not, Could be pre-ship, Gen, I dunno what this is except I have ALWAYS wanted Lena and James to be CE-Bros, Just enjoy, Take from it what you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 01:02:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12332352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSIGurlie07/pseuds/CSIGurlie07
Summary: After learning he has a new boss, James gets an unexpected visitor. [[I know that sounds like the start of a smut fic, but it's NOT I swear]] Just a quick and dirty scribble I'm importing from my tumblr. [[still not smut, promise]] SPOILERS FOR 3x01





	After Hours

“Kara told me you would still be here.”

The soft low voice sprang unexpectedly from the 3am shadows of the CatCo bullpen, pulling James’ attention up to shadowy form of Lena Luthor. She entered the office just enough to catch the barest light from his desk lamp. James rose to his feet, hackles lifting.

“I’m not working for you,” he declared.

The news had come in less than twelve hours ago. CatCo Media, now in the hands of a _Luthor_. It was obscene, an affront to the face of journalism, and utterly reprehensible. Lena heard his disdain easily, and her shoulders drooped, just a little.

“After Edge’s meeting, I thought maybe you might be warming up to me, Mr. Olsen.”

“When it was donations to reconstruction efforts, or your sponsorship of the Supergirl statue, sure. But this? I won’t let you turn this magazine into a vehicle for shilling the L-Corp company line.”

“What kind of person would I be if I did that? Considering that I bought CatCo to prevent Morgan Edge from doing the same...” Lena’s head tilted in the shadows, almost flirtatious if not for the hard edge in her voice.

James huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “So that’s it. It’s self-preservation.”

“Yes. There were a lot of reasons behind my decision, and protecting L-Corp from that insult of a human being was a big one.”

Lena strode towards him, passing the low conference table and the couches around it until the light of James’ desklamp washed over her, bathing her in a warm glow that softened her gaze and eased the sharp cut of her jaw.

“I don’t want to shake things up; why would I? CatCo has been good to me, and it’s in my best interests to maintain the status quo, if not improve it. I’ve already determined that the news of my buying the majority shares will be the last piece CatCo runs on me. I asked Kara to write it.”

“Kara quit.”

“Did she?” Green eyes sparkled, before her eyebrows shrugged at him. “Whatever you may think of me, Mr. Olsen, I only want what’s best for CatCo.”

Resentment coiled in James’ gut, unrelenting. “I’m not working for you,” he repeated.

“Then don’t.”

James bristled, his brain immediately reaching for options should she demand his resignation right then and there.

“Work with me.”

James blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You needn’t look so surprised,” Lena smirked. “I don’t know anything about non-academic publication. Maybe I’ll have some insight once I’m more familiar with the industry, but for now the company is better off in your hands.”

Her gaze held James’ easily. When he didn’t respond, her smile only grew wider.

“If it’s the principle of being in league with a Luthor that bothers you… At least it’s better than Morgan Edge, right? The enemy of my enemy, and all that.” A dark eyebrow lifted as a pale hand reached across his desk. “What do you say?”

James stared at it, then at Lena, studying her carefully. Lena waited, patient and sure. She was right: James had warmed up to her over the summer, when report after report came in of a new rebuilding initiative from L-Corp, or new donations to greenlight a stalled construction project. When they’d kept running into each other at the same meetings, same functions, and he’d realized that the icy persona he’d glimpsed at Lillian Luthor’s trial was nothing like the woman who smiled and charmed her way through every gathering.

Lena’s shrewd business move didn’t have to derail that understanding of her, if didn’t let it. If he gave her the benefit of the doubt-- as Kara had, and continued to do.

Finally, he reached across and gripped the offered hand firmly. “All right. Let’s see how it goes.”

A dazzling smile glimmered at him in the low light. “I look forward to it.” Lena retracted her hand and adjusted the strap of her briefcase. “I’ll have my office expect your call once the first shareholder meeting is scheduled. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Olsen.”

“James.” The correction spilled out of him before he realized it was happening. Once it was out there, though, he committed to it and offered a smile of his own. “My friends call me James.”

Lena nodded. “Good night, James.”

“‘Night.”

He watched her go, and stood there in numb shock until his laptop pinged with an incoming email. Sure enough, Kara’s name sat in the sender’s box, attaching an article titled “New Leadership for CatCo Empire”. In the body of the email was a simple message.

_I’m sorry._

James grinned, and pulled out his phone. Winn answered on the first ring. “No Guardian tonight. Meet me at the bar: I feel like celebrating.”


End file.
